Recent experiences with Silver Spring International

[Anonymous]

I read the recent Bethesda Beat article on Silver Spring International Middle School and I'm interested in some recent perspectives on the school. My child, who would start next year, is somewhat anxious. I am, in turn, now somewhat apprehensive about descriptions of SSIMS that make it seem chaotic and disruptive. My kid's heard from current 6th graders about fights and that kind of thing, but I also don't know how much of that is kids talking and making their school seem more dangerous than it really is.

https://moco360.media/2023/01/30/safety-concerns-at-ssims-prompt-two-visits-from-county-officials-in-one-week/

[Anonymous]

What other middle schools are you considering as an alternative to SSIMS? They may be the same or worse.

I'll be honest, right now, discipline and behavioral issues are prevalent in a lot of MCPS middle and high schools. So you're not likely to find a perfect place and might just have to choose between the lesser of two evils.

[Anonymous]

We're zoned for SSIMS and actively exploring alternatives. The decrepit and outdated building itself affects students' experiences and behaviors, too, which means that even a change in leadership won't solve all the problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read the recent Bethesda Beat article on Silver Spring International Middle School and I'm interested in some recent perspectives on the school. My child, who would start next year, is somewhat anxious. I am, in turn, now somewhat apprehensive about descriptions of SSIMS that make it seem chaotic and disruptive. My kid's heard from current 6th graders about fights and that kind of thing, but I also don't know how much of that is kids talking and making their school seem more dangerous than it really is.

https://moco360.media/2023/01/30/safety-concerns-at-ssims-prompt-two-visits-from-county-officials-in-one-week/

The school is 1 mi from the Metro, but is described as next to a Metro station. Makes me wonder about other errors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read the recent Bethesda Beat article on Silver Spring International Middle School and I'm interested in some recent perspectives on the school. My child, who would start next year, is somewhat anxious. I am, in turn, now somewhat apprehensive about descriptions of SSIMS that make it seem chaotic and disruptive. My kid's heard from current 6th graders about fights and that kind of thing, but I also don't know how much of that is kids talking and making their school seem more dangerous than it really is.

https://moco360.media/2023/01/30/safety-concerns-at-ssims-prompt-two-visits-from-county-officials-in-one-week/

The school is 1 mi from the Metro, but is described as next to a Metro station. Makes me wonder about other errors.

A station for the Purple Line is being constructed right out front of the SSIMS parking lot. So it will be next to a Purple Line station when that is done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read the recent Bethesda Beat article on Silver Spring International Middle School and I'm interested in some recent perspectives on the school. My child, who would start next year, is somewhat anxious. I am, in turn, now somewhat apprehensive about descriptions of SSIMS that make it seem chaotic and disruptive. My kid's heard from current 6th graders about fights and that kind of thing, but I also don't know how much of that is kids talking and making their school seem more dangerous than it really is.

https://moco360.media/2023/01/30/safety-concerns-at-ssims-prompt-two-visits-from-county-officials-in-one-week/

The school is 1 mi from the Metro, but is described as next to a Metro station. Makes me wonder about other errors.

That detail is an unfortunate error, and I’m not sure why it hasn’t been corrected. The rest is an accurate, if not understated, depiction of the issues

[Anonymous]

It's next to a Purple Line stop. Which is under construction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read the recent Bethesda Beat article on Silver Spring International Middle School and I'm interested in some recent perspectives on the school. My child, who would start next year, is somewhat anxious. I am, in turn, now somewhat apprehensive about descriptions of SSIMS that make it seem chaotic and disruptive. My kid's heard from current 6th graders about fights and that kind of thing, but I also don't know how much of that is kids talking and making their school seem more dangerous than it really is.

https://moco360.media/2023/01/30/safety-concerns-at-ssims-prompt-two-visits-from-county-officials-in-one-week/

The school is 1 mi from the Metro, but is described as next to a Metro station. Makes me wonder about other errors.

That detail is an unfortunate error, and I’m not sure why it hasn’t been corrected. The rest is an accurate, if not understated, depiction of the issues

I think context is important here. This list of issues was generated by staff and parents as part of an advocacy effort to coincide with the recent operating budget hearings. Good for them for being thorough and organized, and they got a good bit of preliminary attention from central office and the media. We'll see if it helps with increased funding. But I don't think neighborhood parents should overreact to the publicity. SSIMS does have some unique challenges, with its very old and poorly connected buildings, the external field house, and the never-ending Purple Line construction, but honestly the problematic student behaviors are standard middle school stuff, these days, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read the recent Bethesda Beat article on Silver Spring International Middle School and I'm interested in some recent perspectives on the school. My child, who would start next year, is somewhat anxious. I am, in turn, now somewhat apprehensive about descriptions of SSIMS that make it seem chaotic and disruptive. My kid's heard from current 6th graders about fights and that kind of thing, but I also don't know how much of that is kids talking and making their school seem more dangerous than it really is.

https://moco360.media/2023/01/30/safety-concerns-at-ssims-prompt-two-visits-from-county-officials-in-one-week/

The school is 1 mi from the Metro, but is described as next to a Metro station. Makes me wonder about other errors.

That detail is an unfortunate error, and I’m not sure why it hasn’t been corrected. The rest is an accurate, if not understated, depiction of the issues

There's also an error about a BOE member, saying that she once attended the school. In fact it was her son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's next to a Purple Line stop. Which is under construction.

And probably won’t be operational until at least 2025.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's next to a Purple Line stop. Which is under construction.

And probably won’t be operational until at least 2025.

And will be a Purple Line station, not a Metro Station.

More importantly, the insinuation is that being near a Metro station poses a specific danger. However, there are many public and private schools in closer proximity to Metro stations. Plus all MCPS schools are accessible by bus. Even once the Purple Line opens, it is more likely that students would be hit crossing w/o the right of way or goofing off than that someone is going to commit a crime at the school and then hop on the light rail as a getaway vehicle.

[Anonymous]

Honestly it really is that bad. Flooded bathrooms every day. Asbestos in the ceiling. Random people walking the track at all hours. It’s beyond the administration. The building needs to go.

[Anonymous]

The track is on park land -- it was transferred to M-NCPPC/Montgomery Parks when the old Blair HS was decommissioned and cut up into SSIMS and Sligo Creek ES. Why? Because the spec for middle schools did not include a track and field of that size, whereas the HS had to have one. (Lots of head-scratching facility decisions over the past 3 decades, especially in areas like downcounty where space is at a premuim and the county hasn't done enough to ensure public-use space isn't overwhelmed by private development interests.)

Like many adjacent park facilities that are used for school athletics/activities, it is supposed to be reserved for school use during school hours and otherwise open to the community. A problem at SSIMS (and, honestly, and sadly unsurprisingly much of downcounty) is that the park has not been well kept by the parks folks. Ignoring the overgrowth, field condition, etc., the fencing/access is poor and poorly marked.

The "random people" walking the track, using the blacktop, etc., are just those from the extended neighborhood, often accessing it via the popular, adjacent trail along Sligo Creek -- the same folks you'd see using outdoor facilities while walking the Capital Crescent Trail or Bethesda Trolley Trail. The differences are the dual use, school and community, and the poor upkeep, signage and care by the parks folks to pay attention/enforce the hours that are supposed to be school-only.

I doubt this is intentional, just that there are louder voices elsewhere that divert attention/resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The track is on park land -- it was transferred to M-NCPPC/Montgomery Parks when the old Blair HS was decommissioned and cut up into SSIMS and Sligo Creek ES. Why? Because the spec for middle schools did not include a track and field of that size, whereas the HS had to have one. (Lots of head-scratching facility decisions over the past 3 decades, especially in areas like downcounty where space is at a premuim and the county hasn't done enough to ensure public-use space isn't overwhelmed by private development interests.)

Like many adjacent park facilities that are used for school athletics/activities, it is supposed to be reserved for school use during school hours and otherwise open to the community. A problem at SSIMS (and, honestly, and sadly unsurprisingly much of downcounty) is that the park has not been well kept by the parks folks. Ignoring the overgrowth, field condition, etc., the fencing/access is poor and poorly marked.

The "random people" walking the track, using the blacktop, etc., are just those from the extended neighborhood, often accessing it via the popular, adjacent trail along Sligo Creek -- the same folks you'd see using outdoor facilities while walking the Capital Crescent Trail or Bethesda Trolley Trail. The differences are the dual use, school and community, and the poor upkeep, signage and care by the parks folks to pay attention/enforce the hours that are supposed to be school-only.

I doubt this is intentional, just that there are louder voices elsewhere that divert attention/resources.

I agree it’s most likely not intentional. But to clarify, are students using the track during the school day? At the same time as community members? If so, I just feel like that is unsafe. Anyone that enters a school building needs to be buzzed in, provide identification, and receive a visitor pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The track is on park land -- it was transferred to M-NCPPC/Montgomery Parks when the old Blair HS was decommissioned and cut up into SSIMS and Sligo Creek ES. Why? Because the spec for middle schools did not include a track and field of that size, whereas the HS had to have one. (Lots of head-scratching facility decisions over the past 3 decades, especially in areas like downcounty where space is at a premuim and the county hasn't done enough to ensure public-use space isn't overwhelmed by private development interests.)

Like many adjacent park facilities that are used for school athletics/activities, it is supposed to be reserved for school use during school hours and otherwise open to the community. A problem at SSIMS (and, honestly, and sadly unsurprisingly much of downcounty) is that the park has not been well kept by the parks folks. Ignoring the overgrowth, field condition, etc., the fencing/access is poor and poorly marked.

The "random people" walking the track, using the blacktop, etc., are just those from the extended neighborhood, often accessing it via the popular, adjacent trail along Sligo Creek -- the same folks you'd see using outdoor facilities while walking the Capital Crescent Trail or Bethesda Trolley Trail. The differences are the dual use, school and community, and the poor upkeep, signage and care by the parks folks to pay attention/enforce the hours that are supposed to be school-only.

I doubt this is intentional, just that there are louder voices elsewhere that divert attention/resources.

I agree it’s most likely not intentional. But to clarify, are students using the track during the school day? At the same time as community members? If so, I just feel like that is unsafe. Anyone that enters a school building needs to be buzzed in, provide identification, and receive a visitor pass.

Yes.